In addition, a tournament reserve matchup between undefeated
prospect Marcus
Sanchez (4-0) of Tulsa and Anderson
Silva sparring partner Jordan
Smith (18-6) of Kaysville, Utah has been confirmed for the
event. In the event that one of the tournament’s quarterfinal stage
winners is unable to re-enter the cage for the semifinal stage due
to injury, the victor of the reserve matchup will take the injured
combatant’s place in the tournament.

“We want to wish Josh Bryant
a full and speedy recovery. We are saddened that he will not be
able to participate in this landmark event for BattleGrounds MMA,
but are excited to be able to give another one of Oklahoma’s finest
up-and-coming mixed martial artists – Trey
Houston - the biggest opportunity of his career,” said
BattleGrounds MMA President and Olympic wrestling gold medalist
Kenny
Monday.

Unlike many of his fellow fighters, the 26-year-old, 5-foot-11
Houston, an explosive fighter who has produced all 11 of his
professional victories by either (T)KO or submission, did not grow
up competing in sports. It wasn’t until he was 15 years old that he
began playing rugby while living in Germany where his father, a
U.S. Army serviceman, was stationed. After moving back to Okla.,
Houston went on to play for the University of Tulsa rugby team and
even enjoyed a stint with the U.S. national rugby squad.

Houston holds a master’s degree in geophysics from the University
of Tulsa and has a full-time career as a field geologist for an oil
company.

Only six months after he was introduced to MMA by a friend, Houston
competed in and won his first amateur bout by submission inside the
first minute of the first round.

The tournament affair marks the first one-night, eight-man,
single-elimination MMA contest in Tulsa since UFC 4 on Dec. 16,
1994.

In non-tournament, Superfight action on the card, Ryan
Couture (7-3) of Las Vegas, Nev. will collide with Jonny
Carson (11-6) of San Francisco, Calif. in a lightweight (155
pounds) showdown and seasoned veteran Nicdali
Rivera-Calanoc (8-7) of Tulsa, Okla. will battle Jen Aniano
(0-2) of Kalamazoo, Mich. in an atomweight (105 pounds) scrap.
Additional bouts will be announced soon.

Tickets for the BattleGrounds MMA event, priced from $65, can be
purchased online at www.bokcenter.com as well as at Arby’s Box
Office at the BOK Center, all ticket outlets, or by calling
1-800-7-BOKCTR.

Doors at BOK Center open at 6 p.m. CST on June 27. The first
preliminary bout will begin at 7:15 p.m.

About BattleGrounds MMA BattleGrounds MMA
(www.battlegroundsone.com) is a world championship professional
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion designed to place combative
sports athletes on a major stage in the most challenging and
exciting format possible: one-night, single-elimination tournaments
that reveal the toughest competitors in their respective weight
divisions. Launched by Olympic wrestling legend Kenny Monday
and Bryan O’Rourke in 2012 as a regional organization in Tulsa, OK
to unearth promising new talent in one of MMA’s biggest hotbeds,
the promotion is quickly capturing the hearts of fans nationwide as
it brings about an exciting new era in the world’s fastest growing
sport.

About the BOK Center: The BOK Center is Tulsa’s state-of-the-art
sports and entertainment venue that opened in fall 2008. The
19,199-seat arena is home to the WNBA Tulsa Shock and the CHL Tulsa
Oilers. The BOK Center was designed to host major concerts, family
shows, ice shows, and other world class entertainment. Owned by the
City Of Tulsa, the BOK Center is part of Vision 2025, a project to
grow economic and community infrastructure for future generations.
In 2011, the BOK Center won the prestigious International
Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) Venue Excellence Award.

About SMG Founded in 1977, SMG provides management services to more
than 230 public assembly facilities including convention and
exhibition centers, arenas, stadiums, theatres, performing arts
centers, equestrian facilities, science centers and a variety of
other venues. With facilities across the globe, SMG manages more
than 14.4 million square feet of exhibition space and over 1.75
million sports and entertainment seats. As the recognized global
industry leader, SMG provides venue management, sales, marketing,
event booking and programming, construction and design consulting,
and pre-opening services for such landmark facilities as McCormick
Place & Soldier Field in Chicago, Moscone Convention Center in
San Francisco, Houston’s Reliant Park and the Mercedes-Benz
Superdome. SMG also offers food and beverage operations through its
concessions, catering and special events division, SAVOR, currently
servicing more than 100 accounts worldwide. For more information
visit www.smgworld.com.